SBRI: protecting nuclear decommissioning operators

Sellafield Ltd will invest up to £850,000 excluding VAT in innovative projects that will better equip and support nuclear decommissioning operators working in hazardous environments.

The aim of this competition is to enable operators to carry out tasks safer, quicker and cheaper while being more comfortable in their working environment. This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition.

Your proposal should be an integrated solution that solves or alleviates challenges for people operating in radioactive environments.

To be in scope your innovation needs to achieve more than one of the following objectives that will lead to safer, faster, and cheaper solutions:

1. Optimise activities to reduce the time and complexity of tasks before entering a radioactive area such as hazard identification and location and task scheduling.

2. Protect the operator from the radiological and conventional hazards present, like exposure to radiation and contamination, physical injury and heat stress (for more detail, see the tender document).

3. Improve the working experience and productivity of the operator by providing such things as:

enhancement of senses like hearing, touch and vision

improved communications

more comfortable operating conditions such as temperature and humidity

greater capability (strength, dexterity, flexibility)

reduced risk to environmental hazards, both nuclear and conventional

better real-time information to the operator and supervisor such as environment, task progress and operator health

4. Provide a solution that reduces waste through either better disposal, packaging, reuse or recycling.

5. Minimise the amount of time and effort required from support teams.

To find out more about this funding opportunity and find potential collaborators register for one of the SBRI: Protecting Nuclear Decommissioning Operators Brokerage Events where we will be seeking to bring solutions together from a wide range of sectors, from creative industries to space applications.